getting raku colours on a hothead

[pixiewillow]

Hello :-)
Could someone please explain how I can bring out the beatuful colours in my raku frit on my hothead torch?
Thanking you in advance :smile:

[Cosmo]

Having never used a hothead, I may not be the best person to answer, but I'll add my two cents worth anyways...

I've noticed that the colors in raku frit are best brought out by rapid temperature changes. Get it very hot, then touch it to a graphite marver to quickly chill the surface. I'm sure some of the other, more experienced soft glass people will give you better instructions, but that's how I've always worked it.

[Sharlee22]

on Val Cox's website, she's saying that working Raku on Hot Head is'nt great. Seems like Raku need oxygen to get nice colors. I think the best person to ask is Val. www.valcox.com

[Lara]

I have a really hard time getting great colors out of the Raku on the HH. I can get some greens, but mostly the brown. It is rapid heating and cooling that will do it.

If anyone is sucessful on the HH with the raku, let me know too.

[suzanne]

The only color I got from Raku on my HH was brown, and some green-blue. The torch just does not get hot enough to get the pinks and purples. In order to get those you will have to really fry the frit ( and have some heat control, your glass will get white, and liquid like water) and cool the bead down as fast as you can by using a brass beadstamp or marver ( I found graphite did not work too well, it absorbs heat, and stays warm)

[paintingwithglass]

I was playing with Raku on a hh a few months ago and I did get a beautiful Cinnamon Brown. The more I worked it the more brown it became.

[Bubbyanne]

I have had limited sucess with Raku. I could only get the purples and blues when I made small beads, heated the snot out of them and then cooled rapidly with a metal tool. I either used my presses or a SS butterknife and had them on ice.
Good luck and if you have some success I'd love to see pictures.

[Calm Water Studio]

When teaching students on a hot head, I keep a cup of water and ice nearby, and keep my brass shaper in it until I'm ready for it. I make the bead, apply frit, HEAT it up (it takes time) and then touch the bead with that cold brass marver. It makes colors pop.

It can be done on a hot head... but, it sure does take a lot longer and also a lot of patience to not burn it.

[Kerry S. Caron]

Hey there,
As my friend Ania Kyte showed us... getting raku colors on a HH works best when 1st you start with a black base get the bead hot and roll only once through the frit, return it to the flame and let your bead sag, don't push it around with any tool, just let it sag around and around, a couple or 3 times works best. Then encase in clear. I have had some great blues greens and evens some purples along with the great earth tones come out when doing it this way.. good luck.. Sorry no camera right now to show you some of mine,, soon I hope.. smiles.. Kerry

[sculptorgirl]

The best color I've gotten is by rolling a clear rod in raku frit and pulling stringers. Use the stringers to do whatever decoration that you want.

For some reason when there's less raku (most of the stringer is clear with only the thinnest covering of raku frit), it takes less heat and less cooling to make the color pop up.

[ReeBird]

have you tried soaking your marver or presses in ice water to get the temp down. Then when you use the cold items the color pops.

[kellyhorton]

my raku pops on a hothead, i also notice different types of raku work differently, i have the light and the dark from GG GLASS, I LOVE THE LIGHT, BUT REALLY LOVE THE DARK, THE COLORS REALLY POP FROM THE DARK. I HEAT MY BEAD UNTIL DROOPY THEN PRESS IT IN MY LENTIL PRESS FROM ZOOIIS. BEAUTIFUL, BLUES, PURPLES, AND I AM A BEGINNER, BUT RAKU IS MY FAVORITE AND I WAS REALLY DETERMINED!!!!

[betzbeads]

Thanks for the tip on the ice, gonna try that! I like to heat em up and blow to cool them off...does anyone else do that? I don't get the purple very often this way, but I like the blues and greens. Maybe I should eat the ice....hhmmmm.

[hummingbird3172]

I tried some raku on avocado green and I got lots of deep russets and golds...I need to play with this some more, but it seems to like this color!

[Kerry S. Caron]

Raku beads on my web site. photo shop is not working,, can't make the pictures small enough to fit on here,, I think I need a new computer,, anyways if you feel like it check out the site.
http://www.moondance-beads.com/

[pulsation66]

Hi
New to lampworking . So you place your presses in ice water.? Do you dry them off before pressing the bead. I know dumb question but I have to ask.
Thanks
Pulsation

[MapleValleyGlass]

Once, when the stars were perfectly aligned in the cosmos, I got purples from my raku.

I am raku challenged.

[NLC Beads]

Some batches are better than others - I found a batch of size 0 that does pop some nice colors... It likes Opal Yellow, and being serenaded under the light of an almost-full moon.

[one hot beader]

Thanks for the tip on the ice, gonna try that! I like to heat em up and blow to cool them off...does anyone else do that? I don't get the purple very often this way, but I like the blues and greens. Maybe I should eat the ice....hhmmmm.

yup I use 1mm frit. het it till it balls up and goes orange/white hot. then before it melts in. pull it out and blow on it. the frit will turn black.

this will give you nice blue, green and a hint of purple.

[debkauz]

All I ever got on a HH was poop.

[playswithfire104]

It's funny Raku frit was the 1st frit I ever bought and I got great colors out of it on my HH. This was before I knew that raku was finicky! I would heat it in different parts of the flame - if you hold it really close to the torch head you can get metallics. You can also add some other color frit with it. The Tye Dye Raku frit from LB Supplys is great. It has some purple frit in with it and is just yummy! I've also added a little pink frit in with the raku.

[one hot beader]

Yes! Raku frit with fuschia frit on a violet bead does wonderful things!

The violet really makes the raku pop, and the raku and pink make the violet all separate.

I havent got a pic, but it is stunning.

[BeadBlossoms]

All I ever got on a HH was poop.

ROTFLOL! Thanks, I needed that! I'm a beginner on a HH and that's how I sure feel most of the time! :) Too funny.

Donna

[BeadMaven]

Hi
New to lampworking . So you place your presses in ice water.? Do you dry them off before pressing the bead. I know dumb question but I have to ask.
Thanks
Pulsation

Here is a great thread on Raku!

http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20601

:wave:

[scootrgrl]

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e207/scootrgrl/justbeads%20auctions/IMGP6589spicyextra.jpg

Sometimes I get some nice beads with raku frit. I believe the 2 swirly focal lentils I used ivory stringer around the reddish bead first then I just added a bit of raku frit to the stringer only. Some interesting colours came out!

Janet

[!ngridh]

as said by others....the key is to give it a rapid cool...I found that works best with a brass tool...preferably the top of my lentil press....if the bead is round...

melt the frit in well....that is how I get a great bloom of color ;-)